Breyer's Ice Cream, revisited
xstitchcrazy
On recommendation of someone here I tried Breyer's (peach) ice cream.
Very disappointing: no creaminess, it breaks up into small "pieces" when
scooping it out and not much peach flavor. Perhaps I'm too used to
additives that make ice cream creamy?? Well, I guess I'd rather have the
additives then; nothing beats Dreyer's Light French Silk for creaminess,
flavor and mood lifting after a crummy day!
JMO, no need to flame me!,
Marilyn
Kristof Kunzmann
Breyer's was never a favorite of mine either, and I'm from the east
coast so I grew up swimming in it. The only ice cream I really love is
Haagen Daaz, any flavor. It is simply the best. Trader Joe's also
carries a very good ice cream, but the name escapes me. You'll only find
it there, I reckon, so the name doesn't really matter much.
--
KRISTOF KUNZMANN
Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California
http://www-scf.usc.edu/~kristof/
Herc Wad
>Trader Joe's also
>carries a very good ice cream, but the name escapes me. You'll only find
>it there, I reckon, so the name doesn't really matter much.
Might be Double Rainbow.
"Mmm...forbidden donut."-Homer Simpson
SoCalTIP, Southern California's Comprehensive Transportation Information Page:
<http://socaltip.lerctr.org>
David Sternlight
cream. Neither is Dreyer's. Haagen Daaz (try their new "Dulce de Leche"
flavor) is. So are McConnell's of Santa Barbara and Double Rainbow. (Trader
Joe's usually carries one or the other, usually McConnell's). Ben and
Jerry's comes close (try their new Dilbert nut flavor, and Cherry Garcia is
one of the all-time great cherry ice creams). Bud's of San Francisco is in
between commercial and premium, as is Steve's. In Boston, Brigham's and
Bailey's are premium and their hot fudge sundaes are a great American
classic. In New York, Rumplemayer's used to come close but these days it
seems to have gone downhill. Fosselman's is commercial grade, but he is very
careful to use the best flavorings so he has a following. But so does Baskin
Robbins--that doesn't prove anything. Mashti Malone is commercial grade but
the rose petal flavor is unique and worth a try. Robin Rose is in between
commercial and premium grade, but has some extraordinary flavors worth
trying.
The best ice cream in the world was available from street stands in Moscow
under the Soviet Union--they got the recipe from us in the 1920's and never
changed it or went in for additives. Dunno how it is now, in free-enterprise
Russia.
Ice cream is measured by the amount of air mixed into it (the less the better
but you need some for "mouth feel")--that is called "overrun". Real gelato
has none.
It is also measured by the percentage of butterfat. Premium ice creams have
about 12-18%, 14% is typical. Commercial ice creams have under 10 %.
If you want a quick education, take several pints of the same flavor (no
mix-ins) but different brands from the freezer case to the vegetable
department and weigh them. The heavier they are, the more butterfat and the
less overrun.
David
Kristof Kunzmann wrote:
> xstitchcrazy wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > On recommendation of someone here I tried Breyer's (peach) ice cream.
> > Very disappointing: no creaminess, it breaks up into small "pieces" when
> > scooping it out and not much peach flavor. Perhaps I'm too used to
> > additives that make ice cream creamy?? Well, I guess I'd rather have the
> > additives then; nothing beats Dreyer's Light French Silk for creaminess,
> > flavor and mood lifting after a crummy day!
> >
> > JMO, no need to flame me!,
> >
> > Marilyn
>
> Breyer's was never a favorite of mine either, and I'm from the east
> coast so I grew up swimming in it. The only ice cream I really love is
> Haagen Daaz, any flavor. It is simply the best. Trader Joe's also
> carries a very good ice cream, but the name escapes me. You'll only find
> it there, I reckon, so the name doesn't really matter much.
>
xstitchcrazy
>
Rainbow (something)!
> xstitchcrazy wrote:
> >
<<snip>>
Trader Joe's also
> carries a very good ice cream, but the name escapes me. You'll only find
> it there, I reckon, so the name doesn't really matter much.
>
> --
> KRISTOF KUNZMANN
> Marshall School of Business
> University of Southern California
> http://www-scf.usc.edu/~kristof/
--
Marilyn Safier, West Hollywood, CA
Franz Aubrey Metcalf
The ice cream at Trader Joe's is Double Rainbow. Originally (and perhaps
still) made in San Francisco, and winner there of several "Best of"
awards. TJ's carries only a few flavors, but the list does include
vanilla and some nearly or fully fat-free sorbets.
I must comment though, that comparing Breyer's to Double Rainbow is
absurd. They are simply two different types of frozen dessert. I used
to love premium ice cream but in recent years have begun to lean
more toward the cheap end of the spectrum. Not Breyer's, which is
painfully overpriced, as is Dreyer's. Even that is not low enough
for me. Recently, if I'm going to have ice cream plain, it's likely
to be chocolate chip from Rite Aid (was Thrifty) or, if the very
common two quarts for $5.50 deal is going on, Baskin and Robbins
chocolate chip. I really believe that lighter, airer, cheaper
ice cream is a more satisfying experience.
If the ice cream is going on top of something else, just ignore
everything I've said: the denser the better and the less sweet
the better. So Double Rainbow vanilla works excellently here, as
does Hagen Daazs (how does one spell that made-up word?). Ben and
Jerry's is simply too sweet for me.
Basta,
Franz
--
=======<?>======<?>======<?>======<?>======<?>=======
Franz Aubrey Metcalf fmet...@crl.delete-this.com
At last a University of Chicago Ph.D.
N.B.: Disguised address; please remove "delete-this."
IISergioII
mix-ins) but different brands from the freezer case to the vegetable
department and weigh them. The heavier they are, the more butterfat and the
less overrun."
Oh, so 64 oz of Breyers is lighter than 64 oz of Haagan Daz? ;-)
But seriously, thanks for the fine summary of what makes ice cream tick.
IISergioII
come to be known as The Pistachio Enigma. Occasionally Thrify does (and it
ain't bad, actually!) but rarely anyone else.
Garth Wallace
>
snippity snip snip snip
>
Ben and
> Jerry's comes close (try their new Dilbert nut flavor, and Cherry Garcia is
> one of the all-time great cherry ice creams).
Can't argue with you there. Hey, anybody know how I can get ahold of a
pint of Ben & Jerry's "Wavy Gravy" flavor ice cream? I've only seen it
available in northern California.
----- "I am not a number! I am a free man!" -------
- The Prisoner*
*or a USC student
tam...@oxy.edu
David Sternlight <da...@sternlight.com> wrote:
> flavor) is. So are McConnell's of Santa Barbara and Double Rainbow. (Trader
I do like McConnell's but when I buy it from grocery stores here, it's always
full of ice crystals. Either they need to find a better trucking company,
or the supermarkets are letting the McConnell's sit and sit.
[...]
> between commercial and premium, as is Steve's. In Boston, Brigham's and
> Bailey's are premium and their hot fudge sundaes are a great American
> classic.
Yes Bailey's hot fudge sundaes used to be a classic Boston experience.
And maybe the packaged Steve's that one buys in supermarkets is less-than-
premium. But as far as what I ate at the Brighams, Bailey, Steve's,
Herrell's etc. ice cream parlors in Boston, taste tells me that Brigham's
and Bairley's were no richer than Steve's, Herrell's, etc., probably
less so.
Brigham's and Baileys were the leading chains in Boston up
until the 1970s. But when I arrived in Boston, in 1979,
they were starting to fade, Bailey's especially. Steve's (the original
one, in Somerville) was the place with the outrageously long lines. In
the 1980s Steve Herrell sold his company and the new owner expanded
operations, actually exploded is more like it. Emack & Bolio's, which
had been there awhile, expanded slightly. Then Steve Herrell decided
to get back in the business by opening several Herrell's ice cream
parlors. Then these new guys, Ben & Jerry, came along. Plus ice cream
parlors for Haagen Daz's, etc. Most of this was at the expense of
Bailey's and to a lesser extent Brigham's. Cambridge & Somerville were
pretty much ground zero for this ice cream explosion; the Bailey's in
Harvard Square was gone by the time I left Boston in 1987 and when I
visited in the early 1990s I noticed that the Brigham's was gone too.
But Herrell's and Steve's and Emack & Bolio were still there. The
Bailey's billboards on the T, which had been ubiquitous in the late
1970s, were gone too; are there any Bailey's still in operation?
Any MIT student however will tell you that the best ice cream in Boston
is to be found between Central Square and Kendall Square, at Toscanini's.
Finally they decided to save transportation costs for everyone and built
a branch in MIT's student center.
One thing which practically all ice cream parlors in Boston could do,
and which practically none can do in other cities: make a good ice
cream soda. Or more to the point, even know what an ice cream soda
IS, and what's supposed to go into it. Hot fudge sundaes at least
can be bought anywhere, Bailey's or no. But try buying an ice cream
soda at a Baskin Robins; there's about a 50-50 chance they won't know
how to make one.
--Mike Tamada
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
D. Gerasimatos
>
>I do like McConnell's but when I buy it from grocery stores here, it's always
>full of ice crystals. Either they need to find a better trucking company,
>or the supermarkets are letting the McConnell's sit and sit.
There's an ice cream parlor in La Canada next to Vons that serves
McConnell's ice cream. I recently had the "Peach Melba". It was also
kind of icy. The peach chunks were almost crunchy.
Dimitri
lbr...@loop.com
lbr...@loop.com
Ralphs sells vanilla ice cream which is good, not as highfat as Haagen
Dazs-type ice creams, and not very expensive either, IMHO. (might just be
because i grew up eating it.)
John Bridges
TJ's sells Double Rainbow's Pistachio (unforunately, it's a mixed container,
yummy Pistachio on one side, and odd dark chocolate on the other side). Their
Pistachio is some of the best ice cream I've ever had (although the nuts tend
to get sorta damp/stale from sitting in ice cream, I'd prefer it without the
nuts, just the great nut flavor).
John Bridges
> The only ice cream I really love is
>Haagen Daaz, any flavor
I used to be a big Haagen Daaz fan, but I think the quality control has slacked
off.
Often the plain Vanilla has a strong taste of cheap Vanilla Extract and egg
yolks.
The Dulce De Leche has been great every time I've had it though.....
John Bridges
wrote:
>On recommendation of someone here I tried Breyer's (peach) ice cream.
>Very disappointing: no creaminess, it breaks up into small "pieces" when
>scooping it out and not much peach flavor. Perhaps I'm too used to
>additives that make ice cream creamy?? Well, I guess I'd rather have the
>additives then; nothing beats Dreyer's Light French Silk for creaminess,
>flavor and mood lifting after a crummy day!
It's got that odd cumbly texture because it doesn't have any additives, or
eggs, and yet has a lot of air puffing it up. Best eaten very cold, the texture
is more like a mouse than ice cream as it softens.
You can't beat the clean flavors in Breyers, particularly the Cherry Vanilla.
They have a bright flavor (except the new French Vanilla flavor) that doesn't
make you feel like you need to wash the that film out of your mouth.
If you like that fake coat the inside of your mouth feel, you might try the new
"Homemade Style" Breyers they are selling, it's chock full of additives just
like Dreyers.
IISergioII
new
"Homemade Style" Breyers they are selling, it's chock full of additives just
like Dreyers."
Yes, it does suck, bigtime!
How ironically named, too!
David Sternlight
John Bridges wrote:
> It's got that odd cumbly texture because it doesn't have any additives, or
> eggs, and yet has a lot of air puffing it up. Best eaten very cold, the texture
> is more like a mouse than ice cream as it softens.
My cat jumped up on my computer table just as I read the above.
David
David Sternlight
IISergioII wrote:
Do the experiment and in your case you will learn two lessons--the second
being the difference between a volume ounce aka "fluid ounce" and a weight
ounce.
And to help you along, I'll vouchsafe another secret concept from the Bavarian
Cream Illuminati--weight divided by volume is called "density".
David
David Sternlight
Garth Wallace wrote:
> David Sternlight wrote:
> >
> snippity snip snip snip
> >
> Ben and
> > Jerry's comes close (try their new Dilbert nut flavor, and Cherry Garcia is
> > one of the all-time great cherry ice creams).
>
> Can't argue with you there. Hey, anybody know how I can get ahold of a
> pint of Ben & Jerry's "Wavy Gravy" flavor ice cream? I've only seen it
> available in northern California.
>
If all else fails, try the Ben and Jerry's store on Main Street in Santa Monica
(south of Ocean Park). They usually have it (call first), and can hand pack a
pint for you.
David
David Sternlight
tam...@oxy.edu wrote:
> In article <36359D69...@sternlight.com>,
> David Sternlight <da...@sternlight.com> wrote:
>
> > flavor) is. So are McConnell's of Santa Barbara and Double Rainbow. (Trader
>
> I do like McConnell's but when I buy it from grocery stores here, it's always
> full of ice crystals. Either they need to find a better trucking company,
> or the supermarkets are letting the McConnell's sit and sit.
>
How sad. I was MIT '54 and went back from time to time. Not recently, though.
>
>
> Any MIT student however will tell you that the best ice cream in Boston
> is to be found between Central Square and Kendall Square, at Toscanini's.
> Finally they decided to save transportation costs for everyone and built
> a branch in MIT's student center.
How nice.
Another great loss was Joyce Chen's "little eating place" near Central Square.
It was one of the most authentic Chinese places I knew, anywhere. Their Kan Shao
cooking was not to be beat, and I've not found it's like anywhere (including the
big Joyce Chen's, or in New York, or in Hong Kong). I've certainly not found any
place in LA which can do Kan Shao beef (with julienned carrots) the way they did
there. It was essentially an MIT luncheonette until it closed.
I wonder if Elsie's is still just off Harvard Square, making those incredible
roast beef sandwiches.
>
>
> One thing which practically all ice cream parlors in Boston could do,
> and which practically none can do in other cities: make a good ice
> cream soda. Or more to the point, even know what an ice cream soda
> IS, and what's supposed to go into it. Hot fudge sundaes at least
> can be bought anywhere, Bailey's or no. But try buying an ice cream
> soda at a Baskin Robins; there's about a 50-50 chance they won't know
> how to make one.
There are many such cultural losses. I understand nobody remembers how to make
the real Egg Cream in Brooklyn any more, though there are a couple of
reconstruct ions in such things as "The Brooklyn Cookbook", and Fox's is still
selling U-Bet syrup. And don't get me started on the topic of "Charlotte Russe".
David
CWLee
> I wonder if Elsie's is still just off Harvard Square, making those incredible
> roast beef sandwiches.
No, it has been gone for several years ... maybe even a decade.
Cronin's, the saloon a couple of blocks farther down/up Mt. Auburn is
gone too.
Is Durgan Park still operating downtown?
--
CWLee
Former slayer of dragons; practice now limited to sacred cows.
Ken Rudolph
> Is Durgan Park still operating downtown?
I'm pretty sure it is. But the neighborhood sure has changed since
I used to go there practically every week when I was at MIT in the
early '60s (small world).
--Ken Rudolph (Indian pudding & vanilla ice cream...yum!)
John Bridges
wrote:
>> is more like a mouse than ice cream as it softens.
>
>My cat jumped up on my computer table just as I read the above.
Spelling checker can't catch cold mice.
Nick Nelson
I'll second this. Ralph's Private Selection (Stock?) house brand
vanilla was excellent the last time I had it, which admittedly was
many years ago. I don't think it comes in small quantities, which is
why I don't buy it.
Krupnikoff
The best ice cream I have ever had was White Mountain Creamery Ice Cream. The
two shops I have been to are in North Conway, New Hampshire and in Wellesley,
Mass. The one in Wellesley was still open as of two years ago. Possibly the
richest ice cream I have ever had. Unfortunately, I don't think that they sell
it in stores (at least I haven't seen it).
Just my opinion...
Zach Baker
> David Sternlight wrote:
> > I wonder if Elsie's is still just off Harvard Square, making those
> > incredible roast beef sandwiches.
>
> No, it has been gone for several years ... maybe even a decade.
It was, I think, still open or just closed when I was at summer
school there in '92; I recall seeing it but didn't eat there, to
my regret. Did go to both Herrell's and Toscanini's though, and
found Toscanini's to be (in my opinion) superior -- the raisin
grape-nut flavor was excellent, I recall.
By the way, the story of Ted Kennedy getting caught at Elsie's
while someone else was taking his Spanish final appears to be
part myth. An article quoted on www.urbanlegends.com says that
Elsie's wasn't around at the time (1951), but that he did get
a friend to take the test for him and was suspended for it.
---
Zach Baker <za...@instantplanet.com>
"I've been shrunk by an amateur!"
Mike Rael
cream, but alas they stopped manufacturing it--insufficient interest in
premium quality ice cream, since it cost more than their regular
one...sigh...
Their regular ice cream is, simply, inferior to most other ice creams.
However, I have tried mixing their chocolate and orange
sherbets--absolute delicious!
Nowadays, with RiteAid taking them over, I have seen no more of Thrifty's
ice cream, even of the "budget" kind. One more tribute to "progress"!
best,
Mike
--
Mike Rael, MS, instructional technology
la...@netcom.com
listowner, self-esteem-self-help
owner, COACHING BY PHONE, the rapid way to raise reality-based self-esteem
rinaann
You may be interested in trying Humphrey's Yogurt across from the Beverly
Center. It is fat free and they let you put lots of good flavors into the
ice cream like cinnamon.
On Mon, 26 Oct 1998, xstitchcrazy wrote:
> Hi,
>
> On recommendation of someone here I tried Breyer's (peach) ice cream.
> Very disappointing: no creaminess, it breaks up into small "pieces" when
> scooping it out and not much peach flavor. Perhaps I'm too used to
> additives that make ice cream creamy?? Well, I guess I'd rather have the
> additives then; nothing beats Dreyer's Light French Silk for creaminess,
> flavor and mood lifting after a crummy day!
>
tam...@oxy.edu
d...@soda.CSUA.Berkeley.EDU (D. Gerasimatos) wrote:
> In article <716o02$i0p$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>, <tam...@oxy.edu> wrote:
> >
> >full of ice crystals. Either they need to find a better trucking company,
> >or the supermarkets are letting the McConnell's sit and sit.
>
> McConnell's ice cream. I recently had the "Peach Melba". It was also
> kind of icy. The peach chunks were almost crunchy.
I've been to the (a?) McConnell's in Santa Barbara. The owner is
often there (I don't know if he owns the whole thing or just that one
ice cream parlor -- how many McConnells are there in Santa Barbara?).
I haven't noticed iciness in the ice cream there; if any of us make it
up there maybe we should tell him that the ice cream that he's sending
down to LA (if indeed it is him doing it) is suffering in transit, or
in storage.
McConnell's is good stuff -- but with all those ice crystals in it, I
rarely buy it here in LA.
--MKT
tam...@oxy.edu
cw...@post.harvard.edu wrote:
> David Sternlight wrote:
>
> > I wonder if Elsie's is still just off Harvard Square, making those
incredible
> > roast beef sandwiches.
>
> No, it has been gone for several years ... maybe even a decade.
Wow, I thought Elsie's was one of those permanent edifices, like the
John Harvard statue. Actually I only went there once or twice myself.
[...]
> Is Durgan Park still operating downtown?
If not, that'd be another historic blow -- doesn't Durgan Park date
to 1830 or something like that? (On the other hand, although it seemed
like an okay restaurant to me, it didn't seem like anything special.)
Err, back to LA: by comparison, what's the oldest continuously
operating restaurant in LA? Phillippes? El Cholo says they go back
to 1927...
--Mike Tamada
tam...@oxy.edu
tam...@oxy.edu
za...@instantplanet.com wrote:
> Did go to both Herrell's and Toscanini's though, and
> found Toscanini's to be (in my opinion) superior -- the raisin
> grape-nut flavor was excellent, I recall.
Ah, either (1) a man of good taste or (2) an MIT student at heart
(Harvard students at least when I was there tended to favor Herrells).
Of course the fact that Herrell's had a parlor in Harvard Square whereas
Toscanini's is relatively close to MIT could have something to do with
it also.
xstitchcrazy
>
Well, if it's fat-free, it's *not* ice cream, and, health be damned, I
prefer ice cream to 'yogart'--Humphrey's Yogart...everything in
moderation, including moderation! And yes, cinnamon is a good flavor,
but hardly earth-shaking that they let you "put it in"....huh???
Cheers,
Marilyn
--
Marilyn Safier, West Hollywood, CA
Sam D.
>
> Err, back to LA: by comparison, what's the oldest continuously
> operating restaurant in LA? Phillippes? El Cholo says they go back
> to 1927...
Tho Original Pantry has been in operation since 1924 but I doubt if
that's actually L.A.'s oldest restaurant.
>
> --Mike Tamada
> tam...@oxy.edu
Michael O'Brien
>
> Thrifty Drug used to make a wonderful gourmet vanilla and chocolate ice
> cream, but alas they stopped manufacturing it--insufficient interest in
> premium quality ice cream, since it cost more than their regular
> one...sigh...
>
> Their regular ice cream is, simply, inferior to most other ice creams.
> However, I have tried mixing their chocolate and orange
> sherbets--absolute delicious!
>
> Nowadays, with RiteAid taking them over, I have seen no more of Thrifty's
> ice cream, even of the "budget" kind. One more tribute to "progress"!
Hey, this ain't so. I live across the street from the Rite Aid ex-Thrifty's
in Venice, on Lincoln Blvd., and they still sell ice cream. It's even still
called "Thrifty's" ice cream...the only survival of the old name. I couldn't
say whether it's as good as the old stuff, or even whether the old stuff
was any good, because I'm a Robin Rose afficionado myself.
Mike O'Brien
(There is no 'x' in my email address.)
Steve Dorr
the LA Weekly (or was it New Times?) backed them up on it. YMMV.
Sam D. wrote in message <3640D1...@greenheart.com>...
xstitchcrazy
>
And I just found out that the Rexall's on Beverly and La Cienega carries
Thrifty Ice Cream cones and pkgs too--they are now Rite-Aid but seem to
have kept the Rexall's name on the front.
Marilyn
> Mike Rael wrote:
> >
> > Thrifty Drug used to make a wonderful gourmet vanilla and chocolate ice
>
--
Mike Rael
In fact, they have introduced a fantastic expresso flavor that
they never had before:)
So, I am wrongo. I abase myself, I abase myself I abase myself.
:)
In addition, some of the folks I thought discharged have suddenly
reappeared from midst the woodwork. Now they tell me the new Rite Aid
isn't half bad. AND a manager who was a particularly obnoxious specimen
(name withheld to protect the guilty--and me, from pesky lawsuits) has
finally been "relieved"--presumably this means he was fired, rather than
allowed to go to the restroom.
best wishes,
Mike
Michael O'Brien (obr...@aerox.org) wrote:
: Mike Rael wrote:
: >
: >
Thrifty Drug used to make a wonderful gourmet vanilla and chocolate ice
: > cream, but alas they stopped manufacturing it--insufficient interest in